The cake looks fantastic! The kids look so happy to be eating it. I would love to make that cake but it just seems a lot of work.

The Americanized Kimchi was made from…you ready? My husband began with a jar of sauerkraut, added red pepper powder, and don’t really know what else he added. That was it. Just the thought he would attempt to make kimchi for me was a treat. It tasted good (I love kraut because that’s what I grew up with in Minnesota).

Weekending 2/20/11: It’s Friday, 2/18/11, and tonight was Ground-soybean stew (kongbijijjigae) for dinner. No, my honey didn’t try it but it tasted good. I may not have ground the soybeans enough as it was “pulpy” in the stew.

Feb. 20, 2011, Sunday: Ojingeojeot (Fermented Squid), after waiting a month prep., it sure was worth the wait. The little rice section has the squid on top of it. Don't think the squid is going to last a month as it's going fast! (Photo of BEFORE and AFTER)

Stuffed cucumbers (Oisobagi kimchi) are so delicious too. If you look at the plate of banchans, no wonder Asian people stay slim, that does not include me because I'm VERY Americanized!

Made some soups from Maangchi's Recipes this past week too. It's been a regular staple lately because it's been so cold here with rain, hail, wind, snow, lightening, and just darn chilly.

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My mouth is watering! Not over the Americanized kimchi though ;) Your food looks fantastic! The ojingo looks fantastic and so do the oisobagi. I want to make both now.

I made doenjang guk (shilgari guk is what my husband calls it). I also made kosari nameul (My daughter, Haneul loves it and we are always trying to get her to eat more veggies). I made mujigae ddeok again for my son's family birthday party. It turned out even better this time. My husband and I went to Chicago over the long weekend and went to jjim jil bang (Kim's Spa). We went without the kids, so it was very relaxing. We had maeun tang (with cod, yum!), soon dubu chigae and yuk gae jang while we were there. We also bought a bunch of food at a market in Chicago and wanted to buy much more, but thought better of buying too much frozen fish since we would have to transport it.

I have a snow day tomorrow, so I will be making kaji, kong nameul muchim and maybe nabak kimchi if I feel ambitious. We have so much kimchi right now and so many dried persimmons that I see sujunggwa and kimchi chigae in my future too!

Weekending 2/27/11: On 2/26/11, Saturday, for lunch I made Spicy Fermented Cabbage Stew (Kimchi Chigae 김치찌개) and a Bean Sprout Side Dish (Kongnamool Muchim 콩나물 무침). Kristi (from Korean Food Fan Profile) kept on talking about Kimchi Chigae and I can see why it's one of your favorite dishes. I remember eating that in Japantown (San Francisco) very long ago. It sure is delicious! I have not been disappointed at all with any of Maangchi's recipes. Every recipe made just brings back lots of memories, food-wise.

I made the sauce with a little bit of soy sauce, sesame oil, tad of white vinegar, and sprinkle of Furikake Seasoning (I love this stuff). That Poblano Green Chili Pancake is just great! You guys would love it too. I added 1/2 chopped Jalepeno and it really makes a difference. I have one more Poblano Pepper so guess what I'm making tonight? ;)

How did you like soon dubu chigae at the restaurant? Well, I’m going to make some this coming week (no promises) because I ran out of homemade kimchi.

You want to hear something funny? When I lived down in Cotati, CA, there was this Asian market that made fresh kimchi pancakes(during lunch-hour), so I would frequent the market practically twice a week, if not more; and each time I would ask myself how do they make that. I even shipped some to my Caucasian Mom UPS overnight with some dry ice. Now with Maangchi’s recipes, I don’t have to wonder anymore, I can make it myself and eat it anytime, thank goodness!

Needless to say, this is what was for dinner tonight…

P.S. Thanks Maangchi. I can’t tell you how much joy you brought into my life, in sharing your family recipes and the Korean food traditions. I have waited a long time to find authentic Korean recipes to try, and you brought that to me. Guess the Internet should get some credit too (without the Internet, I would have never found Maangchi)! :)

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Thanks Maangchi! This site also brings me a lot of joy. I never would have thought that I would be be successfully making the foods I am making now–and I feel like I am becoming more adventurous all the time. It definitely would be great to meet some day. Who knows?–maybe after my husband graduates law school we will end up in California. Or maybe even New York.

The soon dubu at the restaurant was tasty, but not really like I remember it in Korea. It wasn’t spicy enough. I know that any food can vary with the cook, but I feel like soon dubu varies the most of any Korean food I have eaten. Anyway, I got around to making soon dubu on Friday. It was very good and the kids ate it, so I guess it wasn’t too spicy for them after all. Of course I did make it on the mild side.

I just finished making jang jorim. YUM! This weekend I made miyeok julgi bokkeum for the first time and turned out great. I also made kong jorim, kosari and my hubby made spinach (sigeumchi nameul). We had Yubu chobap and doenjang guk today. Looking forward to a week of yummy lunch boxes!

I was going to make gochu jeon today and then my husband told me it isn’t his favorite jeon and he only bought enough peppers for the jang jorim, so I couldn’t make it. I think I need to stop for some peppers on my way home tomorrow and make it anyway. ;)

Weekending 3/6/11: During the week I made Kimchi, soybean sprout side dish (kongnamool, and the delicious rolled egg dish. It’s been raining all week here but that never kept me from cooking.

I’m so hungry for miyeok julgi bokkeum that you made. Hmart is unable to ship “refrigerated” items such as the seaplant stem. We spent time playing with our dog at the beach and during that time, I saw seaweed at low-tide so I told my husband I’m going to use what we have (abundantly) in our ocean and try using the kelp. I’ve been Google-ing trying to figure out how to prepare (sanitize) the local seaweed. It’s free, fresh, and readily available in the Pacific Ocean. If you don’t hear from me, you’ll know what happened! Just kidding.

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Sunday 3/6/11: Eggplant Side Dish (Gaji Namul), Breaded Cod Fillets (Daegujeon), and Soybean Side Dish (Kongjang, Kongjorim) are the items I made this weekend and they will hopefully last during the work week. I really really really like eggplant!

Currently I’m trying to figure out whether the Mugwort I got from the Internet is the same ingredient for Rice cake Gyungdan 경단. I desperately want to make it but gathering all the ingredients is kind of difficult. So my goal is to have it all so that by July 4, 2011, I can make it for that holiday. :)

The Gyungdan on this site are so photogenic, and delicious too I am sure. I’ve wanted to make them too. I hope you can get all of the ingredients.

I also made gaji nameul today and I have kongjang in the fridge still. I always make a double batch because the kids love them. I finally made oi sobaegi and they turned out great. I hadn’t made them before because I remember thinking it was too salty when I lived in Korea and I think I had the impression it would be difficult to make. Not at all, and they are delicious. My husband was so happy. I also made the beef/radish soup that is posted with them and it had my son saying “MMMMM..MMMMM” while he has eating it. It is great to find another simple soup that I can quickly make to go along with panchan.

I made soondubu again earlier in the week and it was definitely better this second time, but I still haven’t made it faithfully following the recipe (each time I haven’t had beef). I’ll make it again this week because I have all the ingredients now. I have nabak kimchi on my list of things to make this week too. I don’t really feel like making it, but I know I will feel like eating it when it is fermented just right. :)

We went to the huge Chinese market near us today because they have Asian kaji and none of the other markets seem to. I bought a large bag of baby bok choy and cooked that up tonight in a ginger/garlic sauce. It is really good–and the first time I’ve cooked bok choy although I’ve loved it for a long time.

A week ago today, we were packed and kept away from our home for 10.5 hours…Tsunami Warning Evacuation. It was very scary and stressful; however, we learned a lot on “how to be more prepared for emergencies evacs.” All is well here now so back to cooking recipes.

March 20, 2001 (Sunday): All the leftovers have been eaten so made some fresh batch of Dumplings Mandu (만두), Kimchi, 김치, and Soybean side dish Kongjang, kongjorim (콩장, 콩조림), Spinach side dish Sigeumchi namul (시금치나물), and this morning purchased some Green chili pepper pancake to make some Gochujeon 고추전 later today to eat for the week.

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Wow! I’m sure evacuating your home was very scary. I am glad all turned out well. The people of Japan have been very much on my mind. I have been looking at some of the stories about Indonesia 5 years after the 2004 earthquake and tsunami and I know that Japan will be just as successful rebuilding, if not more. Of course the loss of human life is the great tragedy.

Yum! You inspire me to try making mandu. I still haven’t made gochujeon! I need to get my act together. How did your kimchi turn out? Have you altered the recipe to your taste at all? I add a bit more sugar usually and I omit the squid/oysters.

Last weekend I made large portions of bibimbop namul and meat to eat throughout the week and it was great. I also made gaji namul and nabak kimchi (water kimchi). This past weekend was too hectic too make much panchan with sick children. I made roasted seaweed in the pan and beef radish soup. I also made doenjang chigae with a really spicy jalapeño, but it was delicious. I love it with enoki mushroom. I also made some rest stop potatoes from this site http://aeriskitchen.com/2011/02/rest-stop-gamja/#more-8969 They are my husband’s favorite rest stop food, so it brings back a lot of memories from our time traveling in Korea.

I plan to make mu saengchae, more roasted seaweed and the chwi namul this week. I am excited to see how that turns out. I don’t think that I’ve had it in Korea…that I remember. The dried aster scaber is cheaper than kosari, so I wanted to try them.

Welcome to Maangchi's Korean food and cooking forum

I made this forum for my readers to talk to each other, help each other, and make some new friends. Please share your experiences and photos of the Korean food you made, and help other members with their questions.